“But my dad and—”
He quieted me with a finger pressed to my lips. “It doesn’t matter. Nothing will change how I feel.”
“And nothing will change how I feel,” I echoed.
“Good.” He kissed me, his mouth moving tenderly against mine. His tongue parted my lips and I cupped his cheek, the days old stubble rubbing roughly against my palm.
I let my fears drift away, carried off by the wind.
Dean pressed his forehead to mine and his tongue slid out to lick his lips, like he wanted one last taste of me.
“Look,” he said softly, and pointed.
I turned away from him and gazed out at the mountains. A bird flew above the horizon, its body a big black shadow haloed by the slowly rising sun.
I grabbed my Polaroid camera and took picture after picture. Even making Dean pose for a few with me. He was reluctant, but I never wanted to forget what we looked like in this moment—hair messy, eyes happy, hearts full.
***
Luckily, whatever was wrong with the car didn’t take long for him to fix. We got on the road early, and took turns driving all day, arriving in Malibu around seven in the evening. We could’ve gotten there sooner, but we’d stopped a few times and also enjoyed an hour-long breakfast at a restaurant with Chase, Alyssa, Jacob, and Alexis. They were all actually pretty cool and I was happy I’d gotten the chance to get to know them. Even if things had started out shaky.
Dean was driving now and I read off the directions on my phone that my Uncle Mathias had given me.
We wound up a cliff, the homes large and imposing with lots of windows.
Dean let out a low whistle. “These are nice.”
They were more than nice. Grand was a more apt word.
“His parents helped him buy it.” I shrugged. “They wanted him to live somewhere he’d be protected from the media.”
The media had always been harsher on my Uncle Mathias and Aunt Remy, and therefore Liam as well. I’m sure, in part, it was because Mathias was the lead singer of the band and therefore more at the forefront. Also, after a major secret of Remy’s was exposed to the media years and years ago they kept expecting their relationship to fall apart. If the media and everyone else saw what I did they’d know those two were madly in love.
As we drove, I noted that while the neighborhood was gated even some of the driveways leading up to the homes were as well. It must’ve sucked to be forced to live in such isolation.
We came to the top of the cliff where the road ended and only one last home stood. There were no other homes around it, but I was sure Liam loved that fact.
Dean parked in the driveway and we got out, opting to leave our bags in the car for the moment.
My Uncle had told me where the spare key was kept and I grabbed it from its hidey spot before letting us in through the front door.
It was quiet inside and I glanced around.
It was decorated in mostly whites and grays with a few hints of navy now and then. The floors were wood in a medium tone brown and were so shiny it looked like you could eat off them—Liam was a bit of a neat freak…or a lot of one.
A staircase led upstairs with wrought iron railings.
The family room sat to our left with a white sectional, a large TV, and an endless amount of gaming systems. There were built-in bookshelves lining one wall, filled with books, family pictures (an added touch from his mom, I’m sure), and old cameras that he collected. Surfing might’ve been Liam’s passion, but photography came a close second. He was the one who got me my Polaroid camera.
The family room had windows looking out at the front yard, as well as the back, and I could see what looked like an infinity pool. Um, yes please.
We moved further into the home, passing a dining room and entering into the spacious kitchen.
I heard rustling and turned to see someone in the pantry.
Someone who was definitely not Liam.
“Who are you?” I shouted at the guy.